To take away, or not to take away…?

A hop, skip and a jump around Crystal Palace triangle will show one thing: there’s no shortage of takeaways. My local area is stuffed full to the brim with curry houses, Chinese restaurants, pizza places, sushi bars and late-night providers for that deep fried chicken craving.

There are so many delicious looking gems – so why do I order from the same place every time I have a takeaway?

It’s a curious phenomenon. When I go out to a restaurant, I make a point of going somewhere new. Of course, I have favourites that I will visit time and again, but generally the idea is to try somewhere different. Not doing so feels like a bit of a cop out.

Takeaways are an entirely different kettle of fish. Every time I want a Chinese, I go to Chi Oriental. When I want a ‘healthy’ takeaway, Edo sushi wins every time. For a curry that tastes deceptively healthy (thereby reducing guilt levels) Gurkha Cottage ticks the tastebud box. Ashamedly, despite many apparently interesting pizza places, I revert to a Domino’s whenever the need for pizza surfaces.

This is something I have always accepted as natural. When I arrived in London, I tried a couple of Indian places and only tried others because I wasn’t entirely happy with the first attempts. Once I found one I liked, I stuck with it.

I attribute this to a couple of things. Firstly, pure laziness. Ordering a takeaway is about ease, convenience and reliability. You want to know what you’re getting; you want to indulge in your favourite; you want to know that you’ll get prawn crackers thrown in for free rather than having to order them.

Trying somewhere new takes effort, and effort is not something that goes along with all of these things. Going to a restaurant is an event, there’s a reason to seek out somewhere interesting. Yes, you’re taking a risk, but that’s part of the fun. Not so with takeaways. You want something you like and you want to know what’s coming.

Or it could just be that your favourite takeaway menu is still stuck down the side of the sofa from last time.